Sermon 20131124
St. John’s Church, Yonkers
Christ the King, Proper 29C
Are any of you puzzled by the gospel reading? This is Christ
the King Sunday. Today we celebrate that
Christ has the victory over sin and death.
Today we celebrate that to him all things shall bow, on heaven and on
earth, and acknowledge the glory of his name, the glory of the only son of
God. Today we celebrate that all
history, all the universe seeing his example of love, compassion and
forgiveness acknowledges him as King of kings and Lord of Lords.
So why are we having a story about the crucifixion?
If this is puzzling to you, that is not surprising; yet it
is important to heed this puzzle, because in it is one of the central mysteries
of our faith.
Christ the king came to serve, not be served. The kingly
authority of Christ comes from service, from love, from compassion, from
forgiveness.
The opposing view is that physical strength and force, the
ability to harm and destroy, is the source of authority. Another way to say this is that sometimes we
have to be practical rather than do the right thing. This is often the view of earthly kings and
powers. This was the view of the Roman
Empire. And if one views the cross from
this point of view, then on the Cross Christ was defeated, not victorious.
Yet Jesus shows his authority on the cross. When condemned unjustly to die he prays to
God, “Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing.” This is
true power: the desire to show compassion even on those who do you ill.
Do we really believe this?
I don’t mean do we say we believe this.
I mean do we make this real in our lives day by day? Do we look at our
life as successful if we have served others, if we have forgiven those who
wrong us, if we make personal sacrifice because we love and care for
others? If we are honest with ourselves
do we lead our lives this way?
I sometimes wonder what was going on for the thief on the
cross. I mean he is angry at the other
thief who is mocking Jesus. At this
final moment of his life he has a flash of clarity. He considers that his punishment is just
because he is a thief. But he sees Jesus
and sees injustice. When he sees Jesus
he sees a man whose crime was healing people, winning theological discussions,
pronouncing people forgiven, trusting God.
I sometimes think the thief in his mind considered Jesus naïve, but in
his goodness and simplicity beautiful. I
sometimes imagine the thief is in a way humoring Jesus because he admires
him. He chooses at this moment to go
along with Jesus’ point of view even though it is not really his own. He says, “Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom”
The other thief mocks Jesus saying, “Call down heavenly
forces and free us” The other thief is
seeing the world from the point of view of this world where might makes
right. But the thief who ask Jesus to
remember him, whatever he thinks about the world really in the depth of his
heart, sees the beauty, the goodness, the wonder of a man on a cross forgiving
his enemies and trusting God even as he dies a torturous death. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.”
And what does Jesus say, “Truly this day you will be with me
in paradise.” In the face of a terrible
death. In the middle of the most final
moment Jesus continues to put his faith and hope in God, and gives that faith
and that hope to this criminal.
On the cross, the faithful, the hopeful, the good, the
compassionate, the forgiving, the loving Jesus has the victory. He exercises true power. He reigns supreme from the tree in this
moment of glory. This is why, when Jesus
told his disciples it was the time for him to go to Jerusalem to suffer death
he called it “his hour to be glorified.”
It is Easter that shows this to be true. Christ rising from the dead, appearing to his
disciples, appearing to 500 at one time, turning the lives of the apostles
upside down with joy and amazement, it is Easter that is the crown Christ wears
after he has sat on the cross, his throne.
Kings and governments may rule from palaces with armies to
back them up. And I am not even saying
that in this world where man hunts man that it is a bad thing. St. Paul says it is a necessary thing for
there to be social order. But the truly
important work is the work you and I do every day. It is the service we perform for one
another.
Service such as the work Adam has done for us for 40 years
here, keeping our plant ready for our worship and programs.
It is when we greet one another warmly, learn each other’s
names; it is when we welcome the newcomer with a smile and learn about their
lives, their joys and struggles; it is when we buy a toy for a child who has
none, or help a neighbor by giving food or connecting them to someone with a
job such as Mother Teresa did; it is when we invite someone to eat with us so
that we can listen to the burdens of their heart; it is when we point out
injustice to our civic leaders and demand change, such as Martin Luther King or
Ghandi have done; it is when we care for our neighbor and do not judge them, as
Pope Francis said “Who am I to judge”;
It is when we learn to give sacrificially with joy for our neighbor’s
aid; It is when we trust God with the
future and the outcomes, simply putting our hearts and minds toward the doing
of good today.
It is when we do these simple things that we are dwelling in
Christ’s kingdom, the one true kingdom that will endure throughout eternity. It
is when we stive to live this way, and always ask forgiveness when we fail,
that we begin to see Christ’s kingdom.
This is the kingdom that gives peace and joy. This is the kingdom where our souls can be
satisfied. This is the paradise Jesus
promises to the thief, ... and to us.
“Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”
In the name…
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